One of Vancouver’s largest musical theatre companies, TUTS performs two musicals every summer at Stanley Park’s outdoor Malkin Bowl, where you can sit in traditional seating or bring your picnic blanket and watch from the grassy lawns. It literally is “theatre under the stars.”

I love TUTS. Last year, my partner and I saw Anything Goes and, in 2010, Singin’ in the Rain. We just love it: the productions are high-energy, family-friendly, creatively staged, and so joyous that we always leave with a smile on our face (even when it’s raining and we have to watch under the TUTS complimentary plastic ponchos*).

This summer, the musicals are The Music Man (hits include the rousing “Seventy-six Trombones” and “Ya Got Trouble”) and TITANIC, which commemorates the 100-year anniversary of the 1912 tragedy. (TITANIC’s original Broadway run won five Tony Awards, including Best Score and Best Musical.)

You can bring your own snacks to TUTS, but you don’t need to: There’s a TUTS wine-and-beer bar and a Garden Cafe—which serves salmon burgers and fire-grilled hot dogs, among other treats—so you can have dinner-and-a-play right there.

*New for 2012: You can purchase $5 “rain insurance” so that you can switch your tickets to another night if you don’t want to do the “watching while wearing a plastic poncho” thing. (Personally, I think watching in the rain just makes it more “Vancouver.”)

Inside Vancouver is a multi-author blog, written by Vancouverites about Vancouver. Our goal is to give an insider’s view of Vancouver, to provide information, stories and opinions from the locals’ perspective about this great city.